Retail Vape Shop Update

This is the page that I plan to update often as I add and delete suppliers based on their performance and product quality, so please check back often.

If you are already into Vaping then you already know the basics of e cigarettes, if not you may want to look at my very first book or just browse through this site. It is beneficial to educate yourself first before diving into this business.

As I suggested on the book, there are thousands of manufacturers in China that produces varieties of e cigarette components but not all are created equal. The quality can vary widely, so can the price.

You can find an Ego 1100mAh battery cost ranging from $3.50 to $5.50, while the $3.30 most likely will be a bad quality battery, the $5.50 may not be the best one either. So it takes some research and buying smaller samples from some of these manufactures to find out the real story.

So far I made 3 trips to China and met with around 12 manufacturers and visited 9 factories. Out of the 9 I visited I only bought from 4 of them.

As you are starting out, sometimes it is harder to trust someone in a country worlds away specially when you have to send the funds first before they ship you any goods. My advice would be to try source your inventory locally and yes it will cost you 10-15% more compare to sourcing them from China directly, but as I described in the book, since the profit margin is huge in this segment, buying quality products locally may help you at first establishing your brand.

Once you get your feet wet and you learn about your product line, generate some good cash flow, you can start sourcing directly from a few good suppliers in China. Just remember this is a fast pace industry, the menu changes daily, so you have to keep up with the pace and the demand for new items.

As for the e-Liquid, my advice is NEVER source that from China as Chinese e liquid have a bad reputation in the market, plus some of the e-liquid can be a health hazard too, so try to source your e liquid all locally in your country.

You can also make your own line of e liquid, I have done a lot of research on it, I also have a book on how to make your own e-liquid you can check it out Here

But at first I do not suggest you start out with your own brand of liquids, instead carry some great name brand ones that has proven track and sales record.

I am reluctant to give you the other company names since they are still somewhat new to me and I am still trying to learn how trustworthy they really are. Only company I mentioned here is Jomo Tech I visited them, very decent company, good sales force and good quality products.

Please understand you still need to do your own research before sending money to any of this Chinese companies, I cannot take any responsibility for that, as you can imagine there is always certain degree of risk involved when dealing with other foreign countries.

If you are hesitant, email me at bestecighq@gmail.com and I can perhaps guide you towards the right company depending on what you are trying to do.

What e-liquid line to carry:

If you visited any Vape shows recently you most likely noticed that most of them carry their own line of e liquid. Now it can be a good and a bad thing. Here is why:

Pros of making your line of e liquid

1. High Profit margin. (To make a 10ml e liquid it usually cost right around $0.55-$0.70 including labels)

2. If your e-liquid line taste great then you have some serious loyal customers for life

3. Uniqueness No one else carries your line of liquid, makes you unique

4. If your e-liquid becomes very popular you can take that to the next level and go national, hit big time success

Cons of making your own e liquids

1. It take a lot of research and tries to make a good tasting e liquid that has the right blend and flavors

2, If you are not careful homemade e liquid can often make people sick though different contamination.

3. If your e liquid taste horrible you lose your business

4. Product liability, when you make your own, the liability lies with you, unlike selling a name brand well known e liquid line, where that company takes total responsibility.

In my shops I only carry name brand e liquid lines for few reasons:

1. Name recognition

2. Established taste and flavor recognition

3. Attractive packaging and Displays

4. No adverse product liability

It is good to go with 2-3 established line, as you will find out not every flavor is a wining flavor for each line of e liquids, every company have a few great one and some not to good ones, so it is best to carry 2-3 lines this way you give your customers a choice and option. If a customer likes peach, he she can try all 3 lines and then decide which ones they like the best. Most likely he or she will become a regular just for that e liquid.

In my store I now carry 3 full line of e-liquids and 2 other line where I just carry a few select flavors by special request.